Morphological and genetic diversity of endangered Lavatera cachemiriana Cambess populations along an altitudinal gradient of Kashmir Himalayas

This study was conducted to assess the morphological and genetic diversity of Lavatera cachemiriana Cambess, an endangered medicinal plant, endemic to the Kashmir Himalayas using multivariate analysis and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. For this study, we used 160 randomly collected plants from 16 geographical populations at an altitude of 1700–3000 m asl. Morphological study on population basis showed significant variations in vegetative and floral characteristics of L. cachemiriana. The Pearson correlation matrix showed significant positive and negative correlations between different parameters of studied populations. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) divided the natural populations of L. cachemiriana into two main clusters. The principal component analysis (PCA) explained 91.67% variation and divided the studied populations into two well-differentiated groups similar to HCA. Amplification of genomic DNA of ten accessions using 10 random RAPD analysis generated 71 polymorphic bands across 10 primers. The grouping of L. cachemiriana accessions by RAPD data based on Ward’s method resulted in the formation of two major groups i.e. group-I includes only two accessions NR and AB and group-II comprises the rest. The genetic studies through RAPD analysis supported the results from the multivariate analysis depicting the two accessions NR and AB to be more related to each other and different from rest of the studied accessions morphologically and genetically. Given the importance of genetic diversity in conservation efforts, our results provide useful information regarding intraspecific variability based on morphological and genetic levels using standard protocols in order to characterize, utilize and conserve this endemic, endangered, and medicinally important plant species sustainably.